Engine starter



July 7, 1936. J. A. CHARTER ENGINE STARTER Filed July 2'7. 1951 PatentedJuly 7, 1936 UNVI'TEDVSTATES 'ENGINE STARTER James A. Charter, Chicago,111., assignor to CharterDrive, Inc., Chicago, 111., acorpora tion ofIllinois Application July 27, 1931:, Serial lSlo. 553,338

. 12'Claims.

This invention relates to engine starters and has forits object, toprovidea new and improved device of this description. The invention isparticularly adapted to be used iii-connection with 5 engine startersfor internal combustion engines used ,on automobiles and the like. Oneof the objects of the present invention is to produce an engine starterwhich can be produced, at a low cost andwhich is efilcient inconstruction and I operation. The inventionhas as a further object toproduce an engine starter wherein the machining operations are reducedandsimplified. The invention has other objects, whicharemoreparticularly pointed out in the accompanying de scription.

Referring. now to the drawing. Fig. 1 is a view of oneform ofenginestarter embodying the invention; v d a Fig. 2 is an end view ofthe device illustrated in 20 Fig. 7

Fig. 3 is a plan View of thedriving pinion;

Fig. 4 isan end view ofthe collar forming a part of said pim'on beforethe toothed section is connected. therewith;

25 Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 6 is the stoplug forming a part of the drivingpinionr Like numerals refer to likeparts throughout 30 the several figures.-

Referring to; the drawingwherein I have illus- .trated one constructionembodying the inven tion, I- provide a sleeve I into which the driveshaft of the startingv motor is receivedthe sleeve 35 being connected tothis shaft so, as to rotate therewith. .Mounted upon the sleeve I lsadriving member adapted to be connectedwith some part of the engine to bestarted, such for example asthe flywheel. This drivingmember as a whole40 is designated as 2. It comprises a gear 3 having teeth-4 thereon. Thetop portion of the teeth 4 atone end of the, gear part way v therealongare cutaway or turned down or otherwise formed so as to be below thetops of; the remaining portion 45 of the teeth, ,.the cut away portionbeing indicated at 5. This provides a gear having the long teeth 4- andthe short teeth5. The end of the gear containing these short teethprojects into :the collar 6, which; has an eccentric opening 1 50 andwhich is provided with teeth 8 which fit betweenthe teeth- 5 on thegear. The'gear is forced into" the collar until the shoulder 9 on thegear engages the collar.

w I prefer; to have thelOngitudinal dimension of 5 .thenshort teethsomewhat greater than the thickness of the collar so that they willproject a short distance beyond the collar when in position. The collaris preferably slightly beveled at 50. on that face from which the end ofthe gear projects, and the extended metal of the teeth is then 5 forcedinto the bevel of the collar and smoothed off to an even surface. Itwill be seen that the gear and the collar are then completely united.The eccentric; collar 6 is provided, on the side which has the greaterthickness of metal, with a 10 slotted opening I0 which extends along thecollar, as shown in Fig'. 3, and there is also provided a slot llconnecting therewith and connecting with the face of the collar. The twoslots form a T- shaped slot in the collar. This slot is for receivingthe hooked end l2 of the coil spring I3, the hooked'portion l2 fittininto the slot as shown. These slots are formed in any desired manner;but are preferably formed by means of a circular saw shaped millingcutter, as this'greatly facilitates the making of the slots and greatlycheapens the construction.

Connected with the collar 6, on the side opposite the slots Hi and H, isa stop lug I54. This stop lug may ofcourse be integral with the collar;but I prefer to have it separate from the collar, as shown in Fig. 6,and to electrically weld it thereto by a fusionwelding operation,thereby greatly cheapening the construction. The stop lug M is providedwith a projection I5 wh ich extends over the first coil on the back sideof the spring l3. .The purpose of this projection is to prevent anypossible tilting of the spring in relation to the face ofthe coil 6,thus forming a comparatively rigid positioning of the springin relationto the face of the: eccentric shaped collar of the starting elem n Thstop g 4- ha a flat me 4 one side of the projection. l5 and aserratedface on the other side of the projection IS, the serrations extendingacross the face. These ser- 40 rations are brought into contact with thecollar ,6 and are fused in the welding process and insure a permanentcomplete uniting of the stoplug with the collar. v v

The collar 6 is preferably made from solid round bars or rods of theproper metal, which are regular stock and therefore low in cost. Thesebars are then severed into pieces of the proper length and boreeccentrically, the bore being serratedor provided with teeth.'I'l'iisprovides a collar with a smooth outer periphery which needs nomachine workjupon it. By providing the collar with the eccentricopenin'g, the metalon Qne'side of the opening, where the slots areplaced, is thicker andof greaterweight than on the other side. Theslotting of the collar reduces this weight and the amount of metal atthis point, but the thickness of the metal is sufiicient to maintain theproper strength. The eccentric hole in the collar is so placed that whenthe metal is removed to form the slots l0 and l l, the collar will bejust balanced, with the stop lug [4 added on the opposite sides asshown. This eccentric placing of the hole in the collar, therefore,provides a compensating feature of providing a balanced condition whenthe driving element is completed, and without adding any additionaldevice or material which has no other function than to assist insecuring the balance. This eccentric placing of the opening in thecollar also provides for a proper depth of the slot without an undulylarge or heavy collar and without extra weight, and still permits themaintaining of a balanced condition. It will further be noted that thestop lug l4 and the slot ll project in the same direction.

In addition to the cheapening of the construction, this arrangementmakes it possible to use materials of different strengths. The stop lugM, for example, being small, can be made of stronger metal than thecollar 6, that is of metal containing a greater amount of carbon. If thestop lug I l was integral with the collar, it would necessarily be ofmetal of the same strength and would have to be larger and heavier. Whenthe device is heat treated, the stop lug 14, having a greater amount ofcarbon, will become harder and will therefore wear longer than if madeof the same metal as the collar. The sleeve is connected with the shaft18 of the starting motor H by the screw l8a. The part engaged by thedriving member is indicated at I9. The sleeve I is provided with aprojection or stop 20 which, under predetermined conditions, is engagedby the stop lug I4.

I claim:

1. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth which are adapted to engage the driven part, said teeth for aportion of their length being shorter radially than the remainingportion of the teeth, a collar separate from the gear of harder materialthan the gear and encircling said shorter teeth and fastened thereto, alaterally projecting stop lug connected with said collar, and a stopprojecting laterally from said rotatable part and engaging said stop lugwhen the parts are in a predetermined position to transmit power fromthe shaft through said lug to said gear, said stop lug being of hardermaterial than said gear so that it will stand the strain placed thereon.

'2. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth which are adapted to engage the driven part, said teeth for aportion of their length being shorter radially than the remainingportion of the teeth, a collar separate from the gear, said collarprovided with teeth intermediate the short teeth on the gear, saidcollar being rigidly connected with said gear and a stop lug projectinglaterally from said gear, said stop lug provided with a projectionextending therefrom adapted to prevent tilting of the coil spring whichsurrounds the rotatable part.

3. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth, a collar having an eccentric opening therein, the end of the gearprojecting into said opening and fastened to said collar, said collarbeing provided with a recess, where the material thereof between theperiphery of the collar and the eccentric opening is the thickest, saidrecess adapted to receive the end of the spring associated with therotatable part.

4. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth, a collar having an eccentric opening therein, the end of the gearprojecting into said opening and fastened to said collar, said collarhaving a portion of the material thereof removed, at the point where themetal thereof between the periphery of the collar and the eccentricopening is the thickest, to form a T-shaped slot.

5. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth, a collar having an eccentric opening therein, the end of the gearprojecting into said opening and fastened to said collar, said collarhaving a portion of the material thereof removed, at the point where themetal thereof between the periphery of the collar and the eccentricopening is the thickest, to form a T-shaped slot, a stop lug separatefrom said collar and attached thereto at a point opposite said slot,said stop lug having a portion which projects laterally from saidcollar.

6. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth, a collar having an eccentric opening therein, the end of the gearprojecting into said opening and fastened to said collar, said collarhaving a portion of the material thereof removed, at the point where themetal thereof between the periphery of the collar and the eccentricopening is the thickest, to form a T-shaped slot, a stop lug having aprojection thereon, the stop lug being provided with a flat face on oneside of said projection and a serrated face on the other side of theprojection, the serrated face being connected with said collar.

7. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth which are adapted to engage the driven part, a collar connectedwith said gear, a stop lug having a projection thereon, said stop lughaving a fiat face on one side of said projection and a serrated face onthe other side of said projection, the serrated face being connectedwith said collar.

8. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth, a collar having an eccentric opening therein, the end of the gearprojecting into said opening and fastened to said collar, a portion ofthe metal of said collar, at the thickest portion of its periphery,being removed to form a T-shaped slot.

9. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth, a collar having an eccentric opening therein, the end of the gearprojecting into said opening and fastened to said collar, a portion ofthe metal of said collar, at the thickest portion of its periphery,being removed to form a T-shaped slot, and a stop lug separate from saidcollar and attached to the periphery thereof at a. point opposite saidslot.

10. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth, a collar having an eccentric opening therein, the end of the gearprojecting into said opening and fastened to said collar, a portion ofthe metal of said collar, at the thickest portion of its periphery,being removed to form a T-shaped slot, and a stop lug separate from saidcollar and attached to the periphery thereof at a point opposite saidslot, the portion of metal removed from said collar to form the slotbeing of an amount to bring the parts into a substantially balancedcondition when the stop lug is attached to said collar.

11. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a driving memberrotatably and slidably mounted thereon, and comprising a gear havingteeth, a collar having any eccentric opening therein, the end of thegear projecting into said opening and fastened to said collar, a portionof the metal of said collar, at the thickest portion of its periphery,being removed to form a slot, and spring, the end of which is receivedin said slot.

12. An engine starter comprising a rotatable part, a gear having anopening through which the rotatable part extends, a collar on said gear,said collar being provided with a slot opening out through the side ofthe collar extending from the periphery toward the rotatable part, aspring surrounding said rotatable part and having one end thereofreceived in said slot, said spring projecting laterally from said slot.

JAMES A. CHARTER.

